Sick Days
by squishy-asshat
Summary: One shot possibly might become a two shot. Penelope and Derek hang out while she is out sick with a cold. Just a little PG/DM fluff. :)
1. Chapter 1

It was one pm when there was a knock on the door. A congested and very over tired Penelope decided to ignore it.

"The Oracle is off duty today." She grumbled to herself as she tried yet again to get comfortable. The knocking just continued, seeming to get more and more persistent. She let it go on for what felt like forever before reluctantly getting out of bed and shuffling her way to the front door of her apartment. "This better be super, uber…." She trailed off as she was met with a grinning Derek Morgan. "important." She said, finishing off her thought with a smile. "What are you doing here?"

"Apparently all the sickos and psycos are taking a break today, so Hotch said we could have one too. Plus a little birdy told me that my baby girl wasn't feeling well so I figured I'd stop by." He leaned against the door frame as he spoke and looked her up and down, his grin growing a little bit wider. Her hair was all over the place, her glasses were slightly skewed, and she was wearing pink footie pajamas with unicorns all over them.

"Well, that little birdy was right. I'm sick." She said and then dramatically fixed her lips into a pout. "Also stop hating on the onsie." She added as she noticed him checking her out. "I was cold and it's warm."

"Hey," he raised his hands in defense "I'm not hating on anything. You wear it very well. Now are we gonna stand out here all day or can I come in?"

"I don't think you wanna do th-" as if her body knew what she was about to say she sneezed. She turned around and walked over to the counter to grab a tissue. "That." It was too late. He was already inside with his shoes off.

"Even goddesses need taking care of sometimes." He told her with a wink as he set a bag down on the table. She hadn't even noticed that he had one with him; she was too surprised that he was there.

"Yeah, and even noir heroes can catch the common cold." She definitely didn't mind him being there, she just didn't want him to catch anything.

"Tough nuts, baby girl."

She rolled her eyes at his seeming not to take this seriously. "I'm serious, Derek. The team can bring in another tech if I'm out while you're on a case but there is no replacement for Derek Morgan."

He stopped taking things out of the bag and turned to her, his expression was suddenly more serious. "There is no replacement for Penelope Garcia either." They just looked at each other for what seemed like half an hour when in reality it was second. She didn't know what happened but something had shifted slightly. It was weird, but nice at the same time. She realized that no one was talking and her chatty nature kicked in.

"Thank you, Peaches." She knew she wasn't going to convince him to leave so she just conceded. She was too tired to push the matter any further. "Whatcha got in the bag?"

"I got some of that tofu soup you love from the place down the street, some regular soup for me, tea, and chocolate." He said as he looked away from her and started to take things out of the bag and put them on her counter.

"You know me so well. You want some coffee?" she asked him as she picked up the herbal tea he had brought.

"Sure, but I'll make it. You go sit down." He said as he took the tea back.

"I can-" she stopped when he gave her 'I'm serious about this, don't argue' look. "Thank you, hot stuff."

"My pleasure, baby." He said over his shoulder as he went into the kitchen.

Penelope went into her bedroom and grabbed her quilt, and then she went and got comfy on the couch. As much as she didn't want to get Derek sick she was happy to have him there. She had been cooped up in her apartment for almost two days and it was driving her crazy. Yesterday they had the day off and she had planned to go into work today but when she got almost no sleep and her cold had gotten worse she decided that was a bad idea. If they got a case there was no way she would be able to properly focus on the information she would need to find. Between no sleep, coughing, sneezing, blowing her nose, and just feeling general disgusting it would have been stupid and probably dangerous to go in. She needed to be at 100 percent with her job. One over sight could really set her team back.

Derek came back a few minutes later with two mugs and two spoons. He set the mugs down on the table then grabbed the soup and settled on the couch. After they were done eating they sat back and snuggled together under her giant purple comforter. HGTV was having a whole day devoted to those shows where people flip different run down properties. Penelope loved to watch because she liked the before and after's. Derek flipped houses sometimes in his spare time so he was always looking for new ideas. They watched this type of thing all the time.

"Thanks for bringing all this stuff and checking up on me, I was starting to go stir crazy." She said after a little bit.

He looked over at her and his eyes narrowed a bit. "Hasn't Sam checked up on you?"

She bit her lip just a little and broke eye contact. "Ermm, we kind of maybe broke up."

"Oh," he raised his eyebrows however he didn't really look surprised. "You alright?"

"Mhm!" she nodded and looked at him again. "It was a mutual thing. It was hard with the hours that we work, you know that. I felt bad keeping him waiting around all the time. We decided that we're probably better as just friends."

"Well, I'm glad you're okay."

She smiled slightly and nodded, there was something off about his expression. Not that he wasn't genuinely happy for her, because he was, but there was something else. He was clearly thinking about something. In a snap he just smiled back and turned his attention to the TV.

"Are you sure you wanna spend the day cooped up with me instead of doing something fun with your girl?" She had just suddenly realized that it was his first day off in a while and he should probably be spending it with his girlfriend.

"I am with my girl." He said still watching TV.

"No, your girlfriend, Savannah."

He pulled a face when she said her name, but only for a split second. "We decided to take a break for a bit." He still had his eyes focused on the show.

"Really? Sorry about that." She couldn't tell how he was feeling about it cause he was so fixated on the television.

"I'm not. Things were just getting kind of eh. I don't know. Boring I guess." When she didn't say anything he finally looked over at her. She had a questioning look on her face. "I'm fine baby. Really."

"Okay, if you change your mind about being fine you can talk to me."

"I know." He said as he smiled and kissed her forehead. "Thank you."

After about half an hour of watching TV Derek heard light snoring from Penelope. She had fallen asleep on his shoulder. He contemplated moving her to her bed because it might be more comfortable but he didn't want to run the risk of waking her. She looked really, really tired. When Hotch had told them that they had the day off the first place he thought to go was to Pen's apartment. He hadn't seen his best friend in a few days and he missed her, plus it wasn't like her to miss work and that kind of worried him. So maybe he kind of wanted to check up on her as well. He was pleasantly surprised when she answered the door. She looked okay, just tired, and very cute. She always looked cute. When she told him that she and Sam were no longer an item he was surprised, he hoped he hid it well. He thought things were going well between them. He would be lying if he didn't say it made him kind of happy, he just wasn't exactly sure why. He didn't have any problems with Sam, he had only met him once or twice but he seemed like a nice guy. The background check he ran confirmed it.

Penelope woke up snuggled against a sleeping Derek; it was a very nice way to wake up. She looked at the clock and noticed it was about four thirty pm. She sat up and stretched, she was feeling a bit better thankfully. Apparently she just needed some soup, some best friend time, and a two hour nap. She looked over at Derek who was now waking up as well. She really did have the best friend ever. When he had told her that he and Savannah were on a break she was kind of happy. She felt bad for that because on the few occasions that they had met she seemed lovely, and the extensive background checks she did proved that she was a nice, normal person.

"Hey there sleeping beauty." He said with a smile as he stretched out.

"Hi there hot chocolate."

He put his arm around her waist and pulled her back so she was resting against him again. "I've missed our lazy days."

"Me too. Don't all those bad guys know that we need our quality bestie time? So rude." He just laughed in response. "I think I need to get out of this apartment for a bit. Wanna go for a walk?"

"Sure!"

"Alright, I'm gonna go change and I'll be right back." With that she got up and went to her bedroom. Derek put his shoes on and then went back to the couch. Five minutes later Penelope came back out in some leggings, a long and slightly bedazzled flannel shirt, and boots. She had also fixed her hair into a big messy bun. It was early fall so it was getting a bit chilly. Being sick totally kicked Pen's ass so she was most definitely not in any mood to dress up like she normally did.

"Ready?" she asked while she came and stood next to the couch.

"You bet. Do you ever not look beautiful baby girl?"

"What can I say? It's one of the perks of being a goddess." She laughed back.

The two left her apartment and strolled around the block arm in arm. They decided to go to the park down the street and just sit for a while. When they got there the sun was starting to get low. They sat for a while in silence, listening to the few remaining kids on the playground and the dogs barking at random things on their evening walks.

"Thanks for keeping my company today, Derek." She laid her head down on his shoulder and grabbed his hand in hers.

"It was my pleasure, Pen." He squeezed her hand and kissed the top of her head.

They sat there, on a bench in the park, until the sun set behind some trees. They walked back to Penelope's apartment and ordered in. The rest of the night was spent watching movies and cuddling. Maybe sick days weren't so bad after all. 


	2. Chapter 2

_One week later….._

Just before they started the briefing Hotch informed the team that they were a man down for this case, Derek was out sick. He asked if another agent could be sent over from another division but there wasn't time. They had wheels up in fifteen.

Immediately after the briefing Penelope pulled out her cell and called her best friend. He _never_ called out sick.

"Hello?" he croaked after three rings.

"I told you; even noir heroes can catch the common cold!" She said over the phone in a slightly I told you so tone.

"Well it was worth it. I had fun hanging out with you." He said just before practically hacking up a lung.

"Honey, you sound bad. Are you sure you don't want me to come over?"

"I'll be fine. You guys just focus on catching whatever sicko is at large today."

A couple days after hanging out with a sick Penelope Derek started feeling not so hot. He did his best to ignore it but when he woke up this morning he felt worse than he had in years. His nose was runny and stuffy, he had a fever, a cough, and his body ached all over. He decided to just lay in bed all day and do his best to get better quickly. He hated leaving the team one man short, he was hoping he could rest up and catch a flight to meet them tomorrow.

He woke up at one in the afternoon to the sound of what he thought was someone breaking in. He sighed and grabbed his gun out of the bedside table. This was the last thing he needed right now. He quietly got out of bed and went towards the noise. As he got to the kitchen, where the noise had been coming from, he quickly turned the corner with his hand ready to grab the gun. The curtains were opened but no one was there. Just as he was about to move further into the kitchen Penelope popped up from behind the counter.

"AH!" She screamed and jumped

"Whoa!" Derek jumped as well.

"What the hell Derek?!" she said with her hand on her chest as she caught her breath.

"I thought you were an intruder." He said coughing again.

"What intruder opens the curtains and makes this much noise?"

"Hey, I had no idea you'd be here. What are you doing here anyway? I thought we caught a case?" he asked as he put his gun down and noticed the three bags she had with her.

"I came to make you feel better." She grinned.

"You finally gonna show me that good morning?"

"In this state I don't think you could keep up." She said with a wink as she turned and took some stuff out of the bags. "Plus it's afternoon sweet cheeks, better luck next time."

"Girl, you're killing me. Whatcha got there?"

"I have some Herbal tea, don't argue it's gonna make you better. I also have lots of soup, cough drops, tissues, Motrin and Sudafed, your favorite foods from that diner we go to downtown, a milkshake, and some more quality bestie time." She said with a smile.

"Don't get me wrong I'm happy you're here but what about work? I don't want you to call out just cause of me."

"Oh hush! You took care of me, now I can only return the favor. Plus work can come with me." she pointed over to her laptop sitting on the kitchen counter.

"I could kiss you." He said as another coughing fit hit.

"Please save all kisses for after the germs have left. Now get back in bed, but here take this." She handed him a bag of cough drops and a bottle of water.

He just smiled and turned to go back to his room, he knew not to argue. A few minutes later she knocked on the door and then came in with a cup of tea, an apple, and a small brown bag. "Drink this and I'm assuming you haven't eaten so here is an apple and or there is a burger and fries in here. Now, when I was sick I had fever for like a solid two days. Do you have one and have you taken anything for it yet?" She said sitting on the edge of the bed.

"I have no idea. I woke up, called out of work and went back to sleep."

"You're such a dude." She mock rolled her eyes and then leaned forward and gently placed her lips on his forehead. She leaned away much too soon, he wish she hadn't. "Definitely a slight fever. Here, take these before it gets worse." She took a bottle out of her pocket and gave him four Motrin and then placed the bottle on his night table. "I've got to go see if the team needs anything so I'll you get some rest. Just shout if you need me." She stood up to leave but he stopped her.

"Why don't you bring your laptop in here? There's plenty of room." He said, looking up at her.

"You just want me in your bed."

"That's just an added perk."

She laughed and went towards the door. "I'll be right back."

They spent the rest of the day in bed. They put a movie on in the background while Penelope worked on her laptop and Derek drifted in and out of sleep. Around seven Derek woke up to Penelope on the phone.

"I'll cross check that with the list of names you gave me earlier and then I'll hit you back, boss man!" She put her phone down on the bed and started typing frantically on her keyboard. He didn't want to interrupt her, she looked very focused. He also liked looking at her when she wasn't paying attention. Not in a creepy way, he just liked to see her in her own world. She always looked to focused and confident when she was working.

"Hey sleeping beauty, let me finish this up and then we can figure out dinner." She said without even looking over at him.

He chuckled. "How did you even know I was awake?"

"All knowing goddess." She said as she looked at him for a second and pointed to herself. "Annnnndddd done." She said with a few final clicks. "How you feeling?"

"Eh," he said with a stretch "been better. My muscles are killing me."

"Why don't you go hop in the shower and I'll order out?"

"Anything you say doc." He said with a mock salute. He got up slowly and went to his en suite bathroom.

Penelope went down to the kitchen to look at the take out menus he had. Once she decided and called in the order she did the few dishes they had used throughout the day and then went back upstairs. She stopped at the bedroom door when she heard him talking.

"No, Savannah, I'm fine." He said sounding slightly exasperated.

She felt bad eavesdropping so she turned to leave but then she heard her name.

"Penelope's here. You don't need to come over." There was a pause. She felt a ping of happiness when he said that. "What do you mean of course she's here? Look I'm not having this conversation right now. We're not together so it's not really any of your business anymore." Another pause then he sighed and she didn't hear anything else. She knocked softly.

"You decent?" she asked as she slowly opened the door.

"How do you define decent?" he joked. He was standing there with a towel tied around his hips. Just like that morning at her house years ago. No matter how many times she saw him shirtless it was still a lovely sight.

"Definitely not that, that's more like sinful."

They both laughed as Penelope sat back down and pulled out her laptop and Derek went back into the bathroom to change. When he came back out she had finished what she was doing and told him she was gonna go pick up the subs she ordered.

When she got back he was in the kitchen drinking some kind of all natural fruit juice that he always had stocked up in his fridge. They decided to set up in the den and eat dinner and watch another movie. Derek had a big comfy sectional that Penelope absolutely loved. It was unbelievably comfortable. After they finished eating she situated herself in the corner and stretched out a bit. Derek had been stretched out on the other side of the couch, however when Penelope got settled he flipped around and rested his head on her lap. That was slightly out of character for him, big tough Derek Morgan.

"You feeling alright, honey?" she asked as she gently placed the back of her hand across his forehead to take a temp.

"Now, I am." He replied, still looking at the TV.

"Okay." She said softly. She rested her hand on his shoulder and absentmindedly trailed her hand up and down his arm.

They watched the remainder of the movie in silence. When it was over he grabbed the remote and turned it off. They both continued to lay there in comfortable silence.

"Can I ask you a question?" she asked quietly.

"Anything." He said as he rolled over a bit so he was looking up at her.

"Did you and Savannah split up because of me? I may have accidentally caught the tail end of your convo earlier." She felt guilty for eavesdropping but she needed to ask.

"Sort of."

"Oh, D. I'm so sorry." She felt bad now, she didn't want to be the reason that his relationship ended, no matter how much she was glad that it had ended. She would never want to be the reason.

"Don't be. It wasn't your fault. She was just always jealous of you. Any woman I talked with but mostly you."

"Was it a justified jealousy?" she asked, she was feeling bold. Things had shifted between them. She had started seeing him as maybe more than just a buddy. She had a feeling he felt the same but she knew that even if he didn't things would be okay.

He looked up at her, maybe slightly surprised that she had just asked. He nodded. He felt terrible. He never should have let his relationship with Savannah go on for so long. He felt bad for stringing her along and he felt bad for not telling Penelope sooner. "Yes."

They both sat quietly for a second. "Pen," he said as he sat up to face her "I -"

"Shh." She stopped him. "You don't need to say anything, not now anyway. You're not feeling great and we don't need to have that big feelings talk. Unless I've been totally misreading this situation I know how you feel. Once you're better you can take me out on a real date and confess your undying love for me." She finished her small speech with a wink. When he broke into a big grin she kissed him on the cheek.

"Am I safe to assume that you feel the same way?"

"One hundred percent, honey."


End file.
